Aisling Dolan (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Families have faced devastation at Lough Funshinagh with their homes, farms and roads. Lough Funshinagh is a turlough, that is, a disappearing lake that has not disappeared in full for over 26 years. I have met families at Lough Funshinagh over the past while. There are generations of farming families living in Ardmullan, Lisfelim, Ballagh and Rahara, and I have extended family living in the area too. They suffer great mental anguish and exhaustion from watching rising waters, especially coming into wintertime, and knowing that the roads cannot be raised any more. These people know they potentially will not be able to get into their homes or that they could be in their home and be stranded.

Over the past year I have met the committees and local councillors who have showed me the devastation in the area, especially after the last few winters. We had an urgent engineering solution in the form of a 3 km overflow pipe and a €1.7 million investment agreed by the Office of Public Works, OPW, and the Minister of State, Deputy O’Donovan, to support Roscommon County Council. However, this was halted in the courts. I represent this region, which is suffering from the impacts of climate change, rising river levels and flooding events. I have raised this issue with Ministers and I thank the Minister of State, Deputy O’Donovan, who has responsibility for the OPW for his engagement with community representatives and families in the area through all this process.

The turlough is designated a special area of conservation, SAC. However, the floods have destroyed the feeding grounds for birds and wildlife and flora and fauna generally. In Ireland we have SACs in poor condition. How do we balance the restoration of our SACs and the livelihoods of communities? Farmers, through the green low-carbon agri-environment scheme, GLAS, the Common Agricultural Policy, CAP, and the new agri-climate rural environment scheme, ACRES, are leading on agri-environmental schemes. They are working to be custodians of our environment. However, right now homes and livelihoods are under threat in County Roscommon. Next it could be the city centre of Limerick, Cork or Dublin, and what happens when it is 100 homes that are under threat close to an SAC? What do we do then?

A public meeting is being held this Monday, 4 July in St. John’s Community Centre, Lecarrow, at 7 p.m. to meet and listen to people in the area. I am calling on all stakeholders, including Roscommon County Council, the OPW, the National Parks and Wildlife Service and all relevant Departments to work together with communities on the ground to find a way forward to protect homes, livelihoods and to protect our environment and protect the wildlife of Lough Funshinagh for future generations.